8:30 AM The uses of computational redistricting

• Background on computational redistricting (how it works, why it's used)
• Applications to litigation: partisan gerrymandering (Rucho), racial vote dilution (Milligan), racial gerrymandering (Alexander)
• Academic findings

Nicholas Stephanopoulos

9:00 AM The legal bases and standards for redistricting under Wisconsin law and the courts’ application

• Constitutional and statutory grounds and structure for redistricting under Wisconsin and pertinent federal law
• Standards that state and federal courts in Wisconsin have applied in redistricting actions since the one person one vote revolution in the 1960s
• Historical application of the legal standards in redistricting actions since the 1960s and the outcome of those actions

Douglas Poland

9:30 AM Race and Redistricting: balancing what is mandated, what is permitted, and what is prohibited

• how the definition (and the inherent challenges) of communities of interest continues to develop
• the effect of the Cooper v. Harris decision on state actions, like Johnson v. WEC
• how we balanced concerns in Clarke v. WEC
• how practitioners can and should involve community stakeholders in their work

T.R. Edwards

10:00 AM Partisan gerrymandering in the States after Rucho

• Reviews state court decisions after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Rucho decision on partisan gerrymandering at the federal level
• Highlights major state-level rulings
• Explores expect trends going forward at the state level

Misha Tseytlin

10:30 AM Break

10:45 AM The PA Supreme Court’s key decisions adopting and implementing judicially manageable standards for redistricting

• a detailed look at Carter v Chapman (PA 2022) and League of Women Voters v. Pennsylvania (PA 2018)
• the Court’s reliance on PA Constitutional provisions, not federal law
• possible implications for upcoming redistricting battles in Wisconsin

Howie Wiener

11:15 AM The good, the bad, the ugly: Redistricting commissions in the 2021 cycle

• The performance of a map can be rigorously evaluated from past data, including fairness and competitiveness.
• Every state has laws and procedures for redistricting.
• The fairest and most competitive maps arise from independent citizen commissions with full autonomy.
• State courts may intervene by using provisions of their state constitution to define gerrymandering offenses.

Zachariah Sippy

12:15 PM Lunch (on your own)

1:15 PM Why compact districts matter

• Discuss why compact districts matter for democracy
• Analyze how compacts districts help detect partisan gerrymandering
• Evaluate when compact districts are effective to promote partisan fairness
• Proving partisan intent

Brian Gordon

1:45 PM Measure of partisan bias

• Different metrics agree for purple WI
• Use of much past election data enables high precision, better than 1%
• The 2022 WI congressional plan is highly biased, the legislative plans much less so

John Nagle

2:15 PM The Totality of the Circumstances: Tradeoffs and Symbioses Amongst Neutral Redistricting Criteria

• Types of neutral mapping criteria
• Examples of tradeoffs, symbioses, and mixed interactions amongst neutral criteria
• Judicially manageable standards through balancing of neutral criteria
• Detection of partisan manipulation via imbalances between partisan and neutral criteria
• Quantifying criteria balancing using Pareto frontiers

Anne Hanna

2:45 PM Program Concludes

• Hear diverse perspectives on redistricting from national authorities on election law and data science
• Review legal challenges to alleged partisan gerrymandering at the federal level, including key U.S. Supreme Court rulings
• Gain practical tools for assessing and critiquing electoral maps using traditional redistricting criteria and advanced quantitative methods
• Evaluate the structural factors that support or hinder state redistricting commissions
• Learn how state-level strategies and court decisions can facilitate more representative electoral maps
• Contribute to the advancement of fair representation and functional democracy at the local, state, or national level

• Constitutional lawyers
• Government lawyers
• Civil rights lawyers
• Election lawyers
• Public interest lawyers
• General practitioners
• Law students
• Paralegals
• Anyone interested in election law

Book Bonus!

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